The Gober’s
1/16/26
Jess and I have just recently been to Eswatini, to explore the possibility of joining a team there. This is the team we met whilst in Thailand in February 2025 and have been getting to know over virtual gatherings in the last year. Eswatini, for reference, is in Southern Africa, between South Africa and Mozambique. You may have heard of Swaziland, and this is the same country, but new name. It’s a small kingdom, but our experience there was short of anything little!
We traveled into Johannesburg, South Africa, and arrived on a Friday night. We stayed the night in the city and the following morning boarded a shuttle to take us to Eswatini. After a 4 hour ride, then a 45 minute ride, we arrived at The Miracle Campus, the home of The Luke Commission! We were greeted by Missi and Brian, two of the ministry pastors that have been walking with us in our year of exploring TLC (The Luke Commission). We were shown to our accommodations, in the “EH neighborhood,” three homes at the top of the hill, where two of the international staff families live with their children. We spent the evening in fellowship with them as the kids swam.
The following day, Missi and Brian showed us around the few towns. We were able to get an idea of the grocery stores and available goods. We had lunch at a fun tourist spot and Jess ventured to try a traditional African “Ox tail”, kind of like a pot roast, served in a cast iron cauldron. We ended the day with a KFC Sunday, one of Missi’s favorite treats! (KFC is quite abundant globally!)
Monday, with the campus in full swing, we were shown many of the departments in action. The TLC system is thriving due to it’s systems of accountability and collaboration. Every department, from pharmacy to the wood shop, supply chain to kitchen, is proud to be doing their part and recognizes their own and the other members value to the whole. It is quite incredible to behold!
The rest of the week was just as full, and everyday we jumped into some aspect of TLC, rounding with the medical teams, seeing patients with the doctors in outpatient clinic, observing surgery. Every lunch and dinner we met with more members of the team: nurses, doctors, administrators, pastoral staff. We got to hear their stories about working with TLC and share our own journey of how we ended up at the table together.
We ended the week with our hearts feeling so full of joy and thanksgiving for the Kingdom work being done at TLC. We can truly envision ourselves as a part of this team. In the next, short season, we are praying about a final commitment to TLC, even as they are doing the same towards us. We will update with news of our next steps!
Please be praying for:
Discernment of the Lord’s leading, to TLC or elsewhere
That the logistics of next steps be unhindered
That Calley and Jess would be prepared to serve, together and as individuals, alongside the team God is preparing them to join
“But seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33
Hi! I’m Calley, and I’m married to awesome Jess, a budding OBGYN, historical fiction bookworm, previously-vegan-recently-pescetarian foodie, botanicals enthusiast, pilates doer, Enneagram 4, heart-and-soul lover of the world. I have set my sights on practicing medicine in unreached areas of the world since high school, and my goal of being an OBGYN took off even earlier, at the ripe age of four! It’s been a long but relatively straight shot from then to now as I finish my residency training in Michigan. After that, I hope to practice overseas. I have a vision that the medicine I’ll serve isn’t just about sickness but an institution of wellness that promotes well-being. “Well-being” means that the soul is free to pour out into the world its visions and desires to impact the world. IE “help others do what is in their heart to do for the world,” as my mentor would say. Ideally, this would happen alongside local partners already serving their communities, and I could come alongside them and add my hands to the mix. Along the way, I met Jess, who, while he eats everything, shares my heart, especially for medicine and the world. He is more than the best friend, husband, and companion I could have hoped to share this adventure with!
Hey! I’m Jess, and I like a lot of things: camping, music, disc golf, household projects, playing with our doggo, Sirius Black, hot tubs, being married to my awesome Doctor Wife, listening to audiobooks, traveling, eating… I met Jesus in my Senior Year of high school, which began a lifelong pursuit of His presence. Not long after, I discovered my heart for world missions, for seeing healing and restoration for all people, in the physical and the spiritual. Then, I met the most amazing woman in the world (Calley Bear Blue, you da best!), married her, and transitioned to further our training in the States. During this process, I have been so blessed with the opportunity to try my hand at many things. Namely, ministry internships, painting houses, Emergency Medical Services as a paramedic, and, most recently, clinical administration. Though my day-to-day life has looked different over the years, my spirit's constant, foundational yearning has been my call to world missions and all things Him. My greatest desire is to live a life steadily in the Presence of the Lord. He is my greatest passion. I am confident in our call to the nations through the avenue of medicine, and I trust the Lord will use us as His hands and feet to bring healing and restoration in Jesus’ name!
Spring 2025
Calley is quickly approaching the beginning of her final year of OBGYN residency, which signals for us the beginning of a Season of Lasts, as this will likely be our last year planned in the States for some time. We are changing gears for such, and have updates to share, but first! A quick recap of our time in Thailand:
Thailand
Calley flew out ahead of Jess to start the conference set up. As the Academic Assistant to the Dean of Surgery, she had to arrive a couple days ahead of the attendees to help get the place organized, and learn the lay of the land. Luckily she is used to 24 hour shifts and meals entirely composed of tuna packets and granola bars… Upon arrival, she was happy to meet the Thai humidity and heat, just like (Alabama) home! The conference began on Monday with pre-conference courses, like Advanced Cardiac Life Support and Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics.
Although she was there to assist with the technology and speaker materials, she had a great time learning along with the attendees. The full conference started on Wednesday and, although her days were full with assistant duties, Calley had full advantage
of the networking offered. She met people from all of the world, many of whom were able to speak to our goals of moving overseas to work in healthcare after residency.
Every meal time was an opportunity to meet someone new, hear their stories and engage with their insight. Not unexpectedly, we found there are a multitude of opportunities for Calley to work as an OBGYN and Jess to work in Biomed Tech, Administration and Paramedic roles.
Connections:
One, seemingly instant, yet deep connection was made with an organization in Africa. The leaders even orchestrated a team meeting via zoom for the folks in Africa to meet with us while still at the conference! We are really excited about this group and are making preparations to visit in January 2026 as an exploring trip. We’ve chatted several more times via zoom and are open to where this connection may lead. Simultaneously we had a lot of wise insight to the Samaritan’s Purse Post Residency Program, to which our application is officially submitted. We expect to have more steps in
June 2025 after our interview with Samaritan’s Purse.
Exploring:
Jess joined Calley on the second weekend and after very little time to acclimate to the 12-hour time difference, they were off to see a little bit of Thailand before the second half of the conference began again Monday. They were able to visit an Elephant sanctuary, and the famous Chiang Mai night market. Monday morning came early, but Jess jumped right in and attended a number of trauma and triage focused classes, while making numerous connections. Calley continued to oversee the surgery track. Both of us were quite pleased at the quality of the lectures. The physicians and practitioners there said this is some of their best continuing medical education all year!
Home again:
Back home, after recovering from jet leg, we continue to process our experience in Thailand. We are really excited to take the next practical steps to life after residency. However there is certainly lots of life here for us now! If you would like to join our partner list, which means we make sure you hear our big updates, then would you share your info with us?
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